Four Moons
by Princess Golux
Summary: Demons, the Initiative, and a blonde Slayer make for an adventure surreal even by SG-1's standards.
1. Dreams, Visions, Nightmares

Four Moons

SG-1/Btvs

None of these characters belong to me. No copywright infringement is intended and no money is made from this venture.

Spoilers through BtVS episode **_Chosen_** and SG-1 episode _**Fallen.**_

Extremely Alternate Universe.

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A huge metal ring, symbols carved along it's surface, glowed eerily blue with energy crackling and shimmering in it's center / a tall bald man with a hideously misshapen face emerged from a pool of blood.

The men were silent, somber. They crept down the dry lakebed with deadly purpose. They gripped the weapons that they carried tightly, edging toward the bright circle of light slowly forming in the bottom of the dusty red rock.

Behind them, a man in chains chanted, sweat pouring from him like rivers once poured through the parched riverbeds underneath their feet. He eyed the cracked earth, phrases creating purple and silver tendrils that slowly spun counterclockwise, light bending into a whirlpool.

The gun at his head never wavered.

Neither did he.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

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A huge metal ring, symbols carved along it's surface, glowed eerily blue with energy crackling and shimmering in it's center / a tall bald man with a hideously misshapen face emerged from a pool of blood / a huge red beast carried a fatigue-clad blond woman in its arms, moving through an underground cave / unfamiliar hands splashed water from an unfamiliar face, reflected in an unfamiliar mirror / a blond man screamed as light poured through him, illuminating a pit crawling with creatures / four moons circled a lemon yellow sun

__

"Mmmph, mnghrp?"

"We have to go to LA."

"MMMmmmphidea what time."

"I don't care. We have to go to LA."

The tone of her voice penetrated. Suddenly wide awake, he reached for his glasses.

"Are you sure?"

She gave a bitter laugh.

"Oh yeah." She looked out over the Seine with regret.

"Believe me. I'm sure."

**---------------------------------------------------------------**

A huge metal ring, symbols carved along it's surface, glowed eerily blue with energy crackling and shimmering in it's center / a tall bald man with a hideously misshapen face emerged from a pool of blood / a huge red beast carried a fatigue-clad blond woman in its arms, moving through an underground cave / unfamiliar hands splashed water from an unfamiliar face, reflected in an unfamiliar mirror / a blond man screamed as light poured through him, illuminating a pit crawling with creatures / four moons circled a lemon yellow sun / faces peered frozen out of a pocket of timeless energy / the inside of a coffin / falling through the sky / the red beast chanting over a fire that glowed with blue flamesits eyes looked upa clawed hand reached out, calling

Daniel Jackson sat bolt upright in bed, gasping and sweating. For a moment he had the crazy sensation that he was in the wrong bed, in someone else's house; all his familiar objects rendered strange and alien. The dark in his bedroom was flat and hard. It surrounded him and he was afraid.

The moment passed and he was himself again, soaking wet and exhausted. The peal of the telephone was a welcome intrusion, forcing him to focus. He shook off the weight of the dream and groped for his glasses, swearing at nothing for the sake of hearing sound. He settled another piece of normalcy on the bridge of his nose and answered his cell phone, fumbling with the tiny buttons.

"Daniel?" Jack's voice was harshly familiar, comforting in its jagged and rough cadence. "We've got a situation."

"Be right there." He hung up. For a moment, fear gripped him, _a clawed hand reaching out_

He shook it off and pulled himself out of bed.

Jack needed him.


	2. There's a demon in them thar hills

"He says there's some kind of demon in those hills." Dr. Daniel Jackson said blandly, turning back from the nervously nodding native guy. His soft blue eyes were steady and non-committal as he peered over his glasses at his disbelieving teammate, then swung back with brows knit.

"A demon?" Col. Jack O'Neill raised his eyebrows at the nodding guy, then looked back at his translator of all things cultural. "Daniel?"

Daniel had that one-eyebrow raised, one eye squinting, intensely concentrating thing going on.

Jack hated that look.

"Demon, Daniel?" He prompted again.

"I have no idea, Jack." Daniel said. "But give me a minute before you start shooting, OK?" Daniel started jabbering in Alienese at the guy again. Jack sighed and keyed his radio.

"Carter?"

"Go ahead, Col." Major Samantha Carter's voice sounded tinny and metallic; and yet somehow, still perky. Jack had no desire to know how she managed _that_.

"We found a guy. Daniel's talking to him now."

"Teal'c and I will head back to your position, sir. So far, we haven't seen any traces of either SG-13 or whatever it was that they ran into."

"Take your time, Carter. Daniel's guy has a theory, but it sounds like he's been eating the local equivalent of wacky weed. The guy's making zero sense. Keep your eyes open, Carter. O'Neill out." Jack turned back to Daniel. "Does he have any idea what happened to SG-13? Any idea at all? And don't tell me they were eaten by a demon."

"O.K. I won't." Daniel paused. "They were captured by a demon."

"Right."

"And they haven't been seen since."

" Great."

"But no-one knows if they've actually been eaten or not."

"Sweet. Just" Jack waved his hand impatiently. "Just find out where we need to go and let's go there, all right?"

Daniel turned back and launched into a rapid-fire dialogue with the nervous native. Jack scowled at everyone he could see, then squinted up at the sun, lighter and more lemony soft than the one he'd left a couple of hours before. He was putting his sunglasses back on when his radio squawked.

"Sir, this is Carter. We'vewe seem to have found something."

"What, Carter? What'dja find?"

"Well sirit seems to be a Marine, sir."

Jack paused. Daniel looked at him. He looked at Daniel. They both looked at the radio.

"A _what_, Major?"

"A Marine, sir."

Jack and Daniel traded raised brows.

"Not one of ours, I take it?"

"No, sir. He doesn't seem to knowColnol, he doesn't seem to realize that he's notat homesir."

Daniel said slowly to Jack, "What's a random Marine doing here?"

"And how the hell did he get here?" Raising his radio he keyed it once more.

"Bring him in, Carter. I've got some questions for him. O'Neill out."

The Marine turned out to be a nice young man in black military fatigues. His brown hair was precisely buzzed and his eyes were a startling shade of crystal blue. He marched in ahead of Major Carter and Teal'c, hands on his head as if he were a prisoner. He kept his eyes straight ahead and stopped when told.

"You can drop your arms, kid." Jack informed him casually. "You're not a prisoner."

The Marine dropped his arms but stayed at strict attention.

"Marines." Sighed Jack. He walked around the young man, sizing him up. "What's your name and rank, soldier?"

"Sergeant Graham Miller, US Marine Corps, SIR!"

"And how'd you get to this planet, Sgt. Miller?"

"I am not at liberty to answer that question, SIR!"

Jack blinked. "Sgt., I'm a Col. Do you know what a Col. is?" He looked inquiringly at the young man.

Beads of sweat were starting to make their way down the Marine's forehead, but he held his ground.

"Yes, SIR!"

"And this soldier here is a Major." He waved a hand at Carter. "Do you know what a Major is?"

"Yes, SIR!"

"And Teal'c here, he was First Prime before he joined our little outfit. Hell, the only one who doesn't outrank you here, Sgt. Miller, is Daniel, and given the fact that he's probably ten times smarter than you, I'm going to say he outranks you by sheer force of brain power." Jack paused glaring directly into the Marine's face. "So, I'm going to ask you again, soldier. How'd you get on planet?"

"Begging the Col.'s pardon, SIR, but I am not at liberty to answer that question, SIR!"

Jack was getting irritated.

"Look, Sgt., I'm not going to threaten you with loss of rank, or even time served. The last time there was another Stargate on Earth it was in the hands of the Russians." His voice dropped to an angry hiss. "So you're this close to getting court-martialed and slapped with a treason charge, is that clear?"

"Sir, yes SIR!" The kid was shaking now, but he didn't break.

"All right, kid" Jack was winding up to really let loose on the young Sgt. Daniel cleared his throat.

"Jack?"

Jack spun around. "WHAT, Daniel?"

"He's obviously under orders not to reveal certain things."

"Yeah, and I'm ordering him TO reveal certain things, things that are close to my heart, things that are matters of national security"

"And he's not telling you, Jack." Daniel raised his voice slightly to compensate for Jack's tendency towards emotional deafness. "But he could tell us a lot of other things. Like what this "demon" actually is, for instance?"

Sam Carter saw the young Marine's eyes flicker to Daniel and back. He seemed to be reacting to the word "demon."

"You know what it is." She said suddenly. Jack and Daniel swung back to look at them, the tall sweating Marine and the small blond Major. Sam had the young soldier fixed with that clear blue, wide-eyed accusatory stare that always made Jack feel incredibly guilty, whether he'd done anything or not.

The kid was in for it now.

Sam went on. "You know what this"demon" really is." She got closer to the soldier, getting into his personal space much the same way Jack had done earlier. "Tell us. Help us to help these people, Sgt. Miller. Help us help _you_."

Sgt. Miller swallowed. Everybody was still for a moment.

The Marine looked at Sam for the first time, a pleading look on his face. "Request permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

Sam nodded slowly, her eyes direct but compassionate. "Go ahead, Sgt."

Sgt. Miller looked around, taking in all four members of SG-1 and coming back to Sam. "Ma'am, I sympathize with your situation, " Jack made a rude noise but the soldier raised his voice slightly and continued, "I want to help you more than I can sayhell!" he swung around and glared at Jack. "I have six members of my cadre stuck in that Hostile's cave

"Cave?" Daniel interjected quickly, "What cave?"

"I would give anything to get them back. You must know that"

"Excuse me, " Daniel raised his voice, "what cave, exactly, are you talking about?"

"Sir, the hostile's cave, sir." The young soldier now looked confused, "the one behind the portal"

"Portal?" Sam said.

"The portal! The portal!" Sgt. Miller was bewildered. "How else did you get here?"

There was a silence.

"What does thislook like, Sergeant?" Jack said firmly.

The Marine suddenly realized that he was talking far more than he had planned. He pressed his lips together and stared at a point just over Jack's shoulder. Sg-1 traded glances. It was obvious they'd gotten all they were going to get from this soldier until he talked to someone else. Someone who was clearly not them.

"For cryin' out loud.." Jack had passed irritated and was entering pissed.

"Why don't you tell us what we need to know, Sgt." Carter kept her voice level.

"Because I don't know who, or what you are, ma'am." The Sgt.'s voice was emphatic but his clear blue eyes pleaded for understanding.

"What?" Jack ground out, taken aback.

Sgt. Miller ignored him, staying focused on the Major.

"If you are really United States Armed Forces, then you should understand. I am in hostile territory with no back-up, being interrogated by unknown forces. I can NOT answer any questions pertaining to my current mission until I'm cleared by my superior officer." He turned his gaze to Jack, a challenging look on his face. "You keep talking about "planets," sir. I have no information that tells me that I am not currently still on Earth."

"What!" Jack and Sam exchanged glances. Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Daniel looked down and away for a moment, then shook his head slightly and looked back.

"And furthermore, " Sgt. Miller went on after a moment. "If you really are on a mission here"

"Careful, Sgt." Jack's brown eyes were cold now. The Sgt. paused, locking eyes with Jack.

"If you are on a mission here, I can neither help nor hinder your mission until I get confirmation that it falls within my mission parameters."

There was silence all around.

"Take him into custody, Carter." Jack said calmly. "You and Teal'c watch him until we make contact with Hammond. Daniel and I will catch up."

"Yes, sir." Carter said, glancing at Teal'c. The big Jaffa inclined his head gracefully and the three set off for the SG-1 base camp.

Daniel waited until he judged the others were out of hearing range.

"Jack" he began.

"No, Daniel." Jack said immediately. "There are four of our men and, apparently, six Marineslost somewhere"

"Jack, I agree with you."

"and that kid knows where. He's going to tell me where or by god" Jack stopped. "You agree with me?"

"And how often does that happen?" Daniel said. "But by his own admission there are six of his own in trouble as well." He stood and waved the local back over. "We've got to find out where this "demon." is holding them and that Marine is our only link."

He started to talk to the local again, but they were interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It sounded like a P-90. Staff blasts were also audible. Jack and Daniel exchanged alarmed looks and took off running.


	3. Contact with the Enemy

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review so far. I'm still learning my way around this system, so I haven't figured out how to individually respond to reviews yet. Aaack. But I am absolutely appreciative, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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"How'd he get onto the planet, Col.?" General Hammond asked, bewildered. The General, Col. O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c stood watching Sgt. Miller on an SGC monitor screen. The Marine sat slumped against a wall, a livid white bandage bound around his upper arm.

"He won't tell us, General." Jack glared at the screen in disgust. "Have you located his commanding officer?"

"Not yet, but I've sent a formal query to the Marine Corps requesting more information." Hammond turned to the members of SG-1.

"Teal'c, you said this creature was totally impervious to bullets?"

"They seemed to have no affect, General Hammond." Teal'c's voice was grave. "The discharge from my staff weapon was only slightly more effective."

"And this Sgt. Miller recognized the creature?"

"It is my belief he did. He called it a monster and attempted to keep the creature from abducting Major Carter, even though he had no weapons." Teal'c looked at Jack. "Obviously, he was not successful."

"General, request permission to find this thing and blow it to hell." Jack leaned forward, itching to go.

"Request denied, Col." Hammond was firm. "You and Daniel and Teal'c have been looking for the better part of the last day and a half. Wherever this creature is hiding, our best bet is that young man in there."

A young aide entered the room. "The President is on the line, General."

The General left the room. The three remaining members of SG-1 looked at each other.

"We'll find her, Jack." Daniel said firmly.

Jack didn't react for a moment.

"Yeah." he said in a low tone, "we'll find her."

Teal'c was hanging around Daniel's office an hour or so later when they were all paged to the briefing room. Their first clue that something was off was when they all noticed that the blast doors were closed, effectively hiding the Stargate from view.

The second was the two people in the room with the General.

One was obviously a Marine Corps Col., tall and blond, wearing battle fatigues and looking capable but exhausted. The other was a smartly dressed Black man wearing no military insignia at all and carrying a briefcase.

The Marine stood their arrival, acknowledging the presence of the Air Force Col. Jack nodded to him in turn and looked a question at his General.

"Col. Tom Bering, this is Col. Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c." The Col.'s eyes flickered over Teal'c for a moment, then he nodded to him as well. The General went on. "They, along with Major Samantha Carter, comprise the group we call SG-1. They are the ones who found your Sgt."

"We thank you for that." The other Col. said stiffly, wariness in every pore. "But I'm still not sure on what charges you're holding him on."

Jack opened his mouth, but Hammond beat him to the punch. "Right now we're simply interested in whatever knowledge he may have that can aid us in recovering our lost personnel."

An aid brought the young Sgt. in, nodded and left. The look of relief on the kid's face was acute, as if he had really believed he would never see his C.O. again.

The Col. stood and saluted his officer, who returned the salute.

"Sir, permission to report."

"Not yet soldier."

Jack and the young Marine spoke at once.

"But sir?"

"Now waitaminnit!"

Bering ignored them, "Not now, soldier!"

The kid straightened his posture. "Sir, yes SIR!"

Col. Bering turned to General Hammond. "I assure you, sir. Once I hear the Sergeant's report, any and all pertinent information will be forwarded to you."

"Just one minute, Col," Hammond ground out, "I _order_ you"

"With all due respect, General." Bering cut in, "I answer only to the President." He looked at the Black man beside him expectantly.

The man with the briefcase spoke finally, standing to make his point.

"Actually, Col., the Sgt. is required and requested, by _direct_ order of the President, to give his report in front of these good people."

"What?" Col. Bering spun around, shock evident.

Jack smiled. "Sweet."

"Gentlemen." General Hammond said firmly. "This is Mr. Black." The smartly dressed man looked at them all in turn. Hammond added, "He is the Special Liaison from the White House regarding this matter. He comes from the President and Joint Chiefs themselves."

"Please," Mr. Black indicated the briefing room table. "Have a seat, all of you."

They all sat down. Mr. Black stayed standing. He cleared his throat and raked the group with a hard, level glare.

"You all represent the two most top-secret projects that the government is funding at this time, unbeknownst to the American people. "

He pointed at Col. Bering. "Col. Bering, you run The Initiative, a top secret government project dedicated to harnessing the powers of the super-and-preternatural for the express purpose of furthering the safety and protection of the American people. You are tremendous fighters in the battle against the forces of darkness."

"What?" Jack O'Neill's mouth was hanging open. Daniel had a look of polite disbelief. Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Even Hammond looked nonplussed. Mr. Black swung around to address his next comments to the SG personnel.

"Meanwhile, you here at the SGC are in charge of first contact with alien species. You explore unknown galaxies and further our goals both of protection and technological growth in an intersteller context. You are the front line in our ongoing interstellar conflict."

Sgt. Miller and Col. Bering stared at the members of the SGC. Then the Col. burst out laughing.

"You guys chase little green men?"

"Gray." Daniel and Jack said in unison.

Jack went on "And excuse me, but, 'the forces of darkness'?"

Mr. Brown slapped the table, pulling all the focus back to himself.

"The President has decided that this mission obviously calls for cooperation between your two organizations. This mission is now a joint operation, with Col,'s Bering and O'Neill commanding and General Hammond coordinating. I am representing the White House in these matters, to make sure that both sides play fair." Mr. Black smiled

His smile was edged, reminding Jack of **_Jaws_**.

Jack made a mental note to rent that again. Excellent fucking movie.

Daniel shot him a look and he refocused.

"Now," Mr. Brown was saying. "We will hear the report of Sgt. Graham Miller."


	4. Too Much Information

"Mystic power web." Daniel said slowly.

"Trans-dimensional Portal?" Teal'c intoned gravely.

The two exchanged nonplussed looks, hopes for Major Carter's successful rescue fading with each word of the Sgt.'s report.

Col. Bering ignored them. "When 2nd Lieutenant Finn gave the order for back-up, what numbers and what kind of firepower did he have in mind, Sgt.?"

The Sgt. was silent.

Col. Bering nodded. "I understand. Heat of the moment...the 2nd Lieutenant was probably not specific. No matter."

"Actually, sir, 2nd Lieutenant Finn was very specific." Sgt. Miller seemed to have come to some kind of internal decision. Still, he hesitated one more moment before admitting, "I was ordered to find Buffy Summers."

Col. Bering blinked. His face began to turn red and his mouth opened.

"Buffy?" Jack was incredulous.

"That traitorous little bitch..."

"Hold on. Mr. Black was leaning forward now, his stare direct. "Do you mean to tell me, Sgt. Miller, that 2nd Lt. Riley Finn ordered you to gain assistance from the very person who nearly destroyed both the Initiative and said soldier's _career_?"

Graham Miller's crystal blue eyes were remote, fastened on a point far, far away. "Yes, sir."

"General Hammond," Jack broke in. His body language clearly indicated that he was done with all this mystic crap. "What the hell does any of this have to do with finding Major Carter?"

"Gentlemen!" General Hammond said, obviously beginning to lose patience. "I don't pretend to understand any of this. If this is a joint mission than I think it would behoove you to let _us_ in on it."

Mr. Black looked away from Sgt. Miller, blinking as if the young Marine had fixated him.

"You're right, of course." He looked at Jack. "Where did you find Sgt. Miller and, ah, lose your Major?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Col. Bering said, still glaring at his sweating Sgt. "The op was in Utah. The portal was in Utah. Obviously the Hostile is in..."

"Devorak." Daniel Jackson broke in.

Everyone looked at him.

"The official designation is P97-45X, but the inhabitants call it Devorak. It's located about 30,000 light years past the Serinu sector, near the Tollan home world." Daniel paused, and then added "Or what's left of it."

"See now," Jack shook his head. "That's where this whole little story about monsters just makes me _edgy._ The fact is, Col., your man here was found on a different freaking' planet, and unless you can somehow explain to me how that happened..."

"That's nonsense!" Col. Bering snapped. "Aren't we past this charade?" He swung around to Mr. Black. "Tell the President that our men and women are loyal and will not betray the secrets of this organization. This is proof. Now end this farce and let me take my soldier home."

Everybody started to speak at once, but a commanding and clear voice cut through the commotion,

"Col., sir, this is not, I repeat, not a test." Sgt. Miller was adamant. "I personally witnessed the Hostile abduct their team member, and I have traveled with them." He looked at the SGC personnel. "The place I ended up on had four moons and the sun was a different color."

"Sort of a lemon yellow." Daniel inserted.

Miller looked back at his CO. "I believe, sir, that the trans-dimensional portal established by Hostile 438 somehow connected our team to the target's nest. I further believe, sir, that that nest is located on the planet Col. O'Neill and his team were on."

"Devorak." Daniel threw in again.

Col. Bering's face darkened.

Lastly, sir, " Graham Miller looked very, very serious. "I believe that contacting Buffy Summers is the best way to assure success of any rescue mission."

"The best way?" Aghast, Col. Bering stared at his soldier.

"Possibly, sir, the _only_ way." Sgt. Miller addressed his last comment to General Hammond and Mr. Black.

"Just who is this "Buffy" person, Sgt. Miller?" General Hammond snapped.

Mr. Black answered instead. "A creature out of folklore, General." He had resumed his fixation with Sgt. Miller, as if the young Marine had an answer somewhere inside him that the sharply dressed man could suss out if he looked hard enough. He went on, reverently, as though he were reciting a prayer. "They say that for every generation there is a Slayer; one girl Chosen above all others. She is endowed with strength, speed, courage and cunning and it is her job, her sacred duty to fight vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness."

Silence reigned. Everyone stared at Mr. Black.

"And someone named her _'Buffy'_?'" Jack was incredulous.

Mr. Black went on, addressing Sgt. Miller and ignoring Jack. "The Special Operations Branch of the Initiative was originally run out of UC Sunnydale. It was the perfect location, since Sunnydale, California housed what was at that time the most active Hellmouth in the world. You met her." It was not a question.

"Yes, sir. Sgt. Miller said quietly.

"Mr. Black," General Hammond could feel the tension among his people. "May I remind you we have a member of our team out there, being held by whatever this creature is? Is all this debate necessary? Our team is ready to move on this creature now, and that's exactly what we're going to do." He stood, preparing to command SG-1 to go forth and find their lost Major.

Mr. Black lost his smile. "One minute, General." He looked at each of the SGC team for a few moments as he spoke, sweeping the room with a proprietary air.

"May I remind you, General Hammond," he replied with an edge to his voice, "That you still answer to the President?" He let that sink in for a moment then, with a softer tone, "I know that this is hard on all of you. But if we were discussing the pros and cons of individuals the SGC has had contact with, the Col. and the Sgt. would be equally in the dark. I have been charged with the coordination of this matter. I need to know what resources we have from both sides."

Col. Bering rolled his eyes.

"Just give me the word and I'll have my boys launch a counteroffensive." Blue eyes burned, shutting the Stargate people out, fixed on some internal Grail. It was unnerving; to the SGC personnel he looked as though his eyes would start to glow at any moment.

Mr. Black rapped the table sharply. "There's no place to launch _to_, Col." The edge was back in his voice. "Every geologist, investigator, witch, warlock and shaman your forces have been able to muster confirms that there is no trace of this creature on this planet. Hostile 438 was adversely affected when the portal was collapsed; he's in a coma now." He let that sink in.

"Basically," he added, "The finding of this young man on the aforementioned planet is the first lead we have as to where this creature could be. Because no-one can find a trace of it here."

Mr. Black swept the room with an assessing look one more time.

"Our best intelligence suggests that the Slayer is en route to Los Angeles." Though his tone was mild, every person in the room understood that the dapper gentleman was speaking with the full weight of his authority.

"Your orders come directly from the Joint Chiefs. I have a plane standing by, waiting to transport you all to LA in one hour. When you touch down in LA we will furnish you with whatever information we have at that time. You will find the Slayer, obtain her cooperation, and return here as soon as possible so that we can find this demon, terminate it, and get our soldiers back." 

A loaded silence settled over the room.

Col. Bering was the first to speak.

"The Initiative has a "constant surveillance" policy regarding this Slayer." He drawled the word out like an obscenity. "I will go gather a strike force." He stood and saluted, making even the gesture of respect seem like an insult. "See you in LA." He stalked out, Sgt. Miller on his heels, as SG-1 looked at each other. All of them saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

Carter was freaking doomed.

"I wish you luck in L.A., gentlemen." Mr. Black bowed cordially. "I think you'll find the Slayer...interesting." He left the room, silence ringing in his wake.

Daniel, Jack and Teal'c looked at each other, then looked at General Hammond.

"Permission to find this thing and blow it to hell." Jack said seriously.

Hammond looked sorely tempted, but in the end Jack, Daniel and Teal'c found themselves on a plane, headed for Los Angeles.

**---------------------------------------------------**

"What about the Asgard? Jack said gruffly.

He was lounging on one twin bed, Teal'c on the other. They had received hotel keys and nothing more.

So much for intel.

"We haven't heard back from them yet. Daniel sounded as tired as he felt, none of them having slept since Carter had been taken. "We are still waiting to hear back from the Tok-Ra, but their forces were decimated in that last attack. The Tollan are on the run." He slumped in a chair facing the two taking up each bed.

"It's been almost 48 hours, Jack. We have to find her _soon_."

Teal'c radiated disapproval through his normal impassive calm. "I do not yet understand how this female warrior will be of assistance."

Jack rubbed a hand over his face.

"Neither do I, Teal'c." He clambered out of bed and began pacing.

The tension level crept up, making all three crazier by the second. They'd been here before, countless times over the years, but always they'd had each other to count on. Now they were being forced to rely on a soldier who was clearly, as Jack had forcefully opined, '_three or four_ tacos short of a combination plate.' One that led a buzz-cut delusional group of escapees from some highly fucked up mental hospital. They seemed to believe every dumb story they were read as collective children.

The Initiative and their whacked out belief in magic left each SG member furious in his own way. All three knew that they would break at some point. SG-1 would ultimately wiggle away from the Monster Squad and go find their lost physicist. Being SG-1 they would simply power through anyone dumb enough to get in their way.

That's how SG-1 worked.

About fifteen minutes before they all lost their minds, however, there was a ring from the hotel phone and the low clear voice of Sgt. Graham Miller came rushing out.

"Col. O'Neill, sir, you've got to get down here right away." The Sgt. was practically whispering but Jack was tuned to disaster and the urgency in the message made his stomach hurt.

"What's the situation, Sgt.?"

Sgt. Miller threw out an address, which Jack repeated so that Teal'c and Daniel would hear. Then he hung up.

"It bears the appearance of a trap, O'Neill." Teal'c was contemplative.

Or at least he sounded like it. Although he pretty much always sounded like that.

"Yeah." Jack kicked his stupid chintz-covered bed. "But we don't have nearly enough intel yet, and I trust the kid, even if his CO is..."

"Psychotic?" Daniel sounded like he was beginning to hate the military all over again.

They looked at each other, checked their weapons, and took off to the meeting place.

**---------------------------------------------------**

SG-1 glared collectively at the industrial warehouse they arrived at. Well, Jack glared. Daniel looked around collecting visual information and Teal'c critiqued the obvious trap they were stepping into, judging lines of fire and plotting escape routes. His face became even more impassive as he looked the site over.

There was a door. Jack knocked.

Another young Marine, blank eyed and blank faced, open the door. He had a gun, a military issue nine millimeter, cocked and waiting. He pointed it at Jack and stood, silent and unmoving.

"Hi. Jack said. He didn't look at he gun, only at the man. "We're looking for the top secret government organization?"

The Marine didn't move.

Jack went to lean in and the gun rose slightly. He cocked his head and frowned.

"This is really getting old." He said irritably.

"Sgt. Bounden." Col. Bering's voice boomed out at them. "Please escort our friends inside."

Sgt. Bounden took a precise step back, allowing them entry. The gun didn't lower.

Jack walked into the warehouse, Daniel and Teal'c close behind. Inside there was a small cadre of hard faced young men, all with weapons close to hand. Except for the soldiers the warehouse was empty, a large barren space with some kind of upper walkway running around the walls about thirty feet above their heads. There was a cage in the middle of the room, and a chair. A tense expectation came off all the men in waves, smelling like a field before battle.

Jack took this all in, and then looked at the Marine Col.

"What's up?" He nodded at the cage. "I haven't seen our monster yet, but the cage is looking kinda small from the reports I've heard." Jack was at his most flippant, but there was a challenge under his words.

Col. Bering smiled. The big blond man looked entirely at ease now, in control again and master of his surroundings. He even looked like he'd gotten some sleep. Jack hated him even more for that.

"Col. O'Neill." He didn't waste a moment. "Please be so good as to toss your weapons on the ground in front of you."

Jack blinked.

"What?"

"Your weapons, Col." Sgt. Bounden stepped forward in response to the Initiative leader's command. Several other soldiers drew their weapons and aimed them at SG-1.

"Please remove them slowly and place them on the ground in front of you."

"Why? Jack said bluntly.

Teal'c and Daniel were looking around, assessing the strength of the opposing force.

It looked pretty forceful.

Several more soldiers raised their weapons.

"You are being detained for the duration of this mission." Col. Bering was smiling, relaxed. "My boys are going to get this bitch and rescue our team. We don't need amateurs mucking up our plans." More soldiers began cocking their weapons, taking aim at Jack.

Jack didn't move, however, until one soldier put the muzzle of his gun to Daniel's temple.

Then he drew out his 9 millimeter and slowly dropped it in front of him. Daniel and Teal'c followed suit.

"Do I even need to mention how court-martialed you're going to be?" Jack looked around at the Marines behind their guns. "You're throwing your careers away, kids. This guy's going to go down, and you're all going with him."

Bering grinned, obviously not worried. "Col. I don't think you understand. My job is to find Hostile Sub-Terraneans, subdue them, and take them to the lab boys so that we can figure out how to use them militarily. I'm going to capture this demon and turn it over to a bunch of geeks. They will then figure out its secrets and I will probably get a medal." He looked around with pride. "So will all my boys." He winked at O'Neill.

"You'll probably get a medal too, just from being around this mission." 

"Thanks." Jack said dryly, "I've got enough of those."

Self-assurance fairly screamed from his counterpart's face. "Oh, they'll reprimand me in private, probably your General will lodge a complaint..." he smiled, a we-both-know-how-the-system-works smile. Jack didn't smile back. "...but as long as I get the Hostile, no one will care _how_ I do it."

Sadly, Jack didn't figure the guy was all that wrong.

Col. Bering delivered the piece de resistance. "Plus," he said, nodding at the cage, I'm going to bring them their very own Slayer. A low snicker ran around the group. The Col. joined in. "The lab coats have been trying to get their hands on her for years. She could teach us a world of new information, especially the biological make-up of those extremely fine martial moves she's got. Her brain alone will be worth millions to the lucky white coat who gets to dissect it."

He suddenly got very serious, very quickly. "Plus we owe her, the bitch. She nearly destroyed a fine soldier, not to mention forcing us to shut down out most productive site."

"Jack?" Daniel said in a low voice.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"This guy is absolutely fucked in the head, isn't he?"

"Yes, Daniel."

Daniel nodded, not looking away from Col. Bering.

"That what I figured." He raised his voice, addressing the Initiative leader for the first time. "Hey, Col. Psycho?"

Jack was momentarily pleased with his own foresight. He had angled his body so he was between the majority of the guns and his archeologist. It seemed like a good idea given Daniel's penchant for brutal honesty at the most critical of idiotic times. Now, it seemed, was one of those times.

"If this girl is so all powerful, how exactly are you going to get her in that cage?"

"It's simple. Col. Bering turned slightly and they could see a door opening on the far side of the room. "You begin every mission with a threat assessment of the target. You want to know every strength the Hostile has."

More soldiers swarmed into the warehouse, surrounding a lean brown haired man with glasses who had his hands bound behind him and a carefully guarded hatred seeping out of his every pore. They marched him up to where the Stargate crew stood, furious and disarmed, and pushed him roughly into the chair that sat next to the cage.

Col. Bering's smile grew gleeful.

"And, more importantly, you _absolutely_ need to know her weaknesses."


	5. The Fine Art of Diplomacy

The guy in the chair was maybe in his late forties and looked like a librarian. He looked like he'd put up some kind of struggle; his brown hair was disheveled, suit jacket rumpled and a bruise was forming at the corner of his mouth. His posture was stiff, but it seemed like defiance rather than injury. He spared a brief moment to measure Jack, Daniel and Teal'c then focused his attention on the stocky blond Marine Col. standing in front of him.

"I don't believe I caught your name, what with the somewhat..." he paused slightly. " impetuous...nature of my invitation."

His voice was cool and British, dismissive in that particularly English way. Jack had always despised that whole "snobbish English School Master" stereotype - look how many Go'auld tried it and failed - but this guy really made it work. His spectacles were miraculously undamaged and his tie was still straight. He raised one eyebrow as he spoke, seemingly unconcerned about the fact that his hands were tied behind his back and a large number of US Marines were holding large-scale weapons at his head.

Jack decided that, librarian or not, he liked the man. You just had to respect a guy like that.

Daniel had come forward to watch the new arrival and he caught Jack's eye, asking a silent question. Jack raised an eyebrow, which told Daniel that they were winging it, as usual; Jack was pretty much in the dark. Moving up put Daniel on one side of the man in the chair, with Jack and Teal'c on the other.

Jack rubbed his face tiredly. The things he did for Carter.

"Now I just know I'm going to hate the answer to this question, but what the _fuck_ are you doing?" Jack gestured expansively; causing a ripple effect as the Marines directly around him raised their weapons.

"Hey!" He said to the nearest one. "Watch that thing, will ya?"

"We need the Slayer." Col. Bering kept his eyes on the man in the chair. He was sounding a bit smug at this point.

"And?" Jack demanded.

"She'll come to get him." He jerked his chin up at the librarian. "They have some kind of weird bond. I'm not completely clear on the details."

"Probably because it involves human emotion." Librarian said calmly. "You don't seem to have grasped the principals involved."

"So, let me see if I can understand this, _Col_." Jack was way past pissed and rapidly becoming downright hostile. "We've got a hostage situation that's getting bleaker for the hostages by the minute - hostages that include some of your men, if I'm not mistaken. We're told to try to work with this Slayer chick cause she's - and I quote "The best chance" to get these people out, and you start this whole thing off by _kidnapping_ her _friends_?" He was waving his hands wildly by this point.

He took a breath and looked over at Daniel. "Did I miss something there?"

Daniel looked thoughtful. "Hostages, friends in danger, kidnappingno, Jack. I think that pretty well covers it."

Col. Bering was definitely sounding smug.

"I think our mission was clear. Mr. Black said we were to obtain the services of the Slayer as soon as possible. This is obviously the exact leverage we need to force her to help us."

"You couldn't have just _asked_ her?" Jack yelled.

A superior smile and a vaguely paternal head shake greeted that question.

"Stick to your littlemen, Col." He looked around at his men with pride. "This is how real business is done."

"Obviously we've been going about this diplomacy thing all wrong, Jack." Daniel said, disgust evident. "And here I really thought no one could be worse at this than you."

"Hey." Jack looked hurt. "Thor likes me."

"The Slayer wouldn't have helped us without incentive, Col. O'Neill" Col. Bering ignored their exchange, beginning to pace in front of his four captives. "She hates the Initiative and all we stand for"

"Can't imagine why." Librarian murmured.

"Because she's a loose cannon!" Bering snapped at him. He'd come to a stop in front of Teal'c, but his glare was directed at his bound bait. "She doesn't care about the mission and I doubt that she would follow orders even if we said 'pretty please'."

Librarian seemed to have a self-reflective moment; "I certainly wouldn't argue that point."

Daniel shook his head. This was surreal.

"Col. Bering," Daniel had his calm' voice on again, "I personally don't think _anyone_ should be following your orders. They seem to be unduly influenced by stupidity."

Jack followed immediately after Daniel. "And after I get out of here I'm going to spend a whole hell of a lot of time making sure you can't give orders ever again."

Col. Bering transferred his smoldering gaze to Col. O'Neill. "Then I guess you just won't get out of here, will you Col.?"

Jack returned his stare, not backing down an inch.

The Marine Col. turned, drew his sidearm, cocked it, and pointed it at Teal'c. He drew closer to the Jaffa, looking critically at the dark man's features. His eyes flickered, taking in every detail.

"Of course," he murmured, "What did I expect from a man who has a demon on his _team_?"

Jack's heart sank.

Jack and Daniel exchanged a look. An enraged Teal'c would be hard to spin. His symbiote-born strength and speed would probably confirm everything these delusional maniacs were thinking.

"I am not a demon, Col. Bering." Teal'c's rumble was even more guttural than usual, the Jaffa's version of Jack's histrionics. Teal'c usually reserved that tone for petty Go'auld and smarmy guys who hit on Carter. If he raised both eyebrows while using that tone, it usually meant he was preparing for a blood feud.

The Librarian was raising one of his own eyebrows. However he looked more curious than homicidal, which was kind of comforting given the grim guys with guns were starting to radiate anger and fear in Teal'c's direction.

"Right." The Initiative leader didn't move, his handgun pointed at Teal'c's chest. "You're not a demon. You're...what? An _alien_?" A ripple of laughter followed that suggestion. The Col. laughed along with his men but didn't back down.

"Actually..." Daniel began, but Jack interrupted him.

"Don't, Daniel." He kept his eyes trained on Bering. "He's too far gone; he can't hear the truth."

"What tipped you off? The frothing at the mouth?" Librarian had this way of raising his volume without raising the dry, sardonic pitch of his voice. It was effective - Bering's eyes flicked toward him. But he regained his balance immediately, returning to search Teal'c's face with fascination.

Librarian tried again to redirect the madman's focus.

"You've never met the Slayer, I take it?"

"I haven't." Bering refused be distracted. He kept talking as he raised his handgun and poked at the gold tattoo on Teal'c's forehead. Teal'c just looked him in the eye, unflinching.

"I have, however, read her file."

The guy was justcreepy. He stayed with Teal'c, crowding into the Jaffa's space, almost as if he were examining something in a petri dish. A very large petri dish to be sure, but it was making Jack crazy. Especially since the gun was still pretty much aimed at Teal'c's head.

"She's good, but we're better."

"Alright." Jack broke in, losing his cool. "Back off of Teal'c. He's taken. Besides, he'll never go for that aura of insanity you project, at heart he's really a homemaker. I admit he's a good looking guy, but"

Col. Bering pulled the trigger.


	6. You Wanted The Slayer

A sharp click sounded from inside the gun, startling everyone.

The Librarian blinked.

Jack and Daniel exhaled sharply.

Col. Bering looked confused. He looked at his gun, raised it again and fired point blank at Teal'c.

Again, the gun clicked.

"Damn it!" The Marine snarled, raising the gun and pulling the trigger over and over. It clicked with every pull.

"Forget to load your weapon?" Librarian asked pointedly.

Bering stopped, his eyes going wide. He spun around and stalked over to the chair.

"She did this."

Librarian said nothing.

"You little shit." The words were hissed out as Bering brandished his ineffectual weapon. "Where is she? Tell me how she did this - I'm going to cut her heart out."

"Yes, that is _exactly_ the sort of thing that would convince me to _cheerfully_ be of assistance." Librarian defiance was in full form. "I will never tell you anything. I rather enjoy watching you underestimate her."

Bering braced one hand on Librarian's chair next to his head, brandishing the hunk of metal.

"Guns are just as deadly without bullets, Mr. Giles, and can sometimes be even more satisfying." He was getting louder by the second. "Lead me to your tame killer, Mr. Giles. Right. Fucking. Now. Or I will beat you to death with this hexed handgun."

Col. Bering and Librarian guy locked eyes, fury in one pair and controlled anger in the other. They held that tableau for long seconds until Bering snarled wordlessly and raised the gun in his hand, ready to strike.

There was a twang.

Col. Bering cried out, the gun arcing away and going clatter, thunk against the warehouse floor. A short bolt of wood pierced the palm of his hand; as everyone watched blood began to ooze up around the wound.

A clear carrying voice called down from the catwalk. "Oh, I am _so_ not tame."

Everyone looked up.

A young woman leaned on the safety railing. She was slim and blond, Southern California Cheerleader-type pretty. She looked almost kewpie-doll fragile and she was wearing a pair of soft workout pants, a tank top and a soft gray hoodie.

She also had a crossbow in her hand.

Col. Bering's eyes were wide and dark, his pupils dilated with pain and anger. "Buffy Summers." He raised his voice. "What did I tell you, Col. O'Neill?" He gestured expansively with his uninjured hand, tucking the other close to his chest. "Why don't you come down here, Miss Summers. We have a...well...a _proposition_ for you."

"Be right there." She swung herself onto the safety railing and jumped, twisting in the air to land in the middle of the room like a cat.

Jack eyed the thirty-foot drop. "Sweet." He said, impressed.

"Yes, our girl's quite the athlete." Col. Bering said. "However, we have the guns." All the Marines raised their weapons. "I believe that we still enjoy a distinct advantage."

Buffy cocked her head. "Didn't seem to be working so well for you a minute ago."

Col. Bering lost his smile. He snatched the rifle from the soldier nearest to him, aimed at Buffy, and pulled the trigger.

It clicked.

All the soldiers were looking at their weapons, now. Quite a few aimed at the ground or the wall and tried to shoot. None of the guns would fire.

"I still have Mr. Giles." The Col. was cold now, and furious. He turned toward his prisoners.

The chair was empty, ropes puddled around it on the floor. Daniel Jackson stood next to the chair, arms folded, with a bland look on his face. Jack and Teal'c looked at Daniel, then looked back at the blond Col., wearing equally bland expressions.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"See, the problem with you Initiative boys, " Buffy drawled, refocusing the Col.'s attention. "Is that you don't do the right homework. Watchers _train_ Slayers. It's what they do. They tend to be good at it, 'cause if they aren't they're monster food and a new Slayer gets called mighty damn quick." She looked pointedly at the chair. "Tactics 101. Misdirection and Escape." Her tone was contemptous.

"I learned that in _high school._"

Col. Bering flushed.

"Although," Buffy added, more contemplatively, "I can see how his extreme lack of wardrobe style could cause you to underestimate him."

The soldiers all discarded their weapons and began moving carefully into position for hand to hand combat. Counting the Col. there were probably fifteen or twenty in all. They spread out so as not to get in each other's way; they were gearing to rush her. The Col. began to strip off his jacket, revealing a rock hard and muscular body.

"There are still a whole lot more of us, little girl, then there are - is - of you." He gritted out, signaling to his men.

"Oh, I think we can help even the odds, Bering." Jack drawled. He was inching toward the Initiative soldiers, as were Daniel and Teal'c. He caught Buffy's eye and nodded, watching her for cues.

Buffy nodded back, but kept talking, keeping all eyes focused on her. "The other thing is, you guys never come up with an original plan." She rolled her eyes. "Do you honestly think that you're the first villains to come up with the idea of kidnapping Giles? _Newsflash!_ It's been done. _Over_ done if you ask me. And it's been done _better_. You are _so_ not stealthy. My _ex-boyfriend_ did a better job of kidnapping Giles."

"I thought we weren't going to keep bringing that up." A large man stood on the safety railing, looming above the incipient fray. His hair was black and his skin was white. Everyone looked up and he jumped down to land next to Buffy and take up a position near her.

"You wanted a demon." He nodded at Buffy. "You wanted the Slayer."

"Well, congratulations." Her look was implacable, cold and angry. "You got us."

Everyone moved at once and the fighting began.


	7. Just Like Old Times

Once again I have to thank everyone for their reviews!! Just for y'all I revised the storyline to include Xander, since he was in demand. I was missing him, anyway.

Extreme spoiler warning!!! This chapter spoils **_Chosen_** like you wouldn't believe. Read at your peril if you haven't seen the episode.

Extreme AU warning: This goes AU after **_Chosen_**, so it does not conform with Ats Season 5. That doesn't preclude certain things that happened ::cough, cough:: but nothing in Ats Season 5 has happened _yet_. Just so's you know.

Other AU warning: I know they have that whole drug thing in SG-1, but I liked Junior, so I kept him.

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. Sad but true fact.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Buffy went low and Angel went high and for a minute it was just like old times. She fought mechanically, almost not paying attention as her body kicked and punched. She hoped Giles had been able to get to Willow and get her out. That had always been the weakest part of the plan.

The spell to keep the guns from firing was only good while it was being recited, which meant that Willow was damn near defenseless the whole time she was chanting it. However it was a line-of-sight thing too, so she'd had to physically be in the building. Giles had been certain that he could magic the ropes, but he would have been completely defenseless while climbing the back fire-escape up to the walk-way. And Willow couldn't help if she was chanting the gun-kablooey spell.

So Buffy had to hold everyone's attention while Giles made his getaway. Seems the Proto-Giles guy was helpful there too, but even so, Buffy wasn't yet sure that she trusted the Three Stooges, as she had dubbed them upon sight. She wasn't even sure that this mission was such a good idea. She had no love for the Initiative, Riley was over her and married, and very little in her dreams made sense.

Plus the fact that she wasn't completely sure she trusted Graham Miller. Lots of water under that bridge. Water that was just chock full of pain.

_Wow. That was an extremely mixed metaphor._ She used one soldier's back as a jumping off point for a butterfly kick.

She caught sight of Three Stooges, efficiently engaging the Initiative soldiers. They weren't her, of course, but they were okay. The Loud One seemed to be in charge - Evil Initiative Col. had called Loud Guy a Col. also, but he wasn't in uniform. Plus Evil Initiative Col. had tried to kill Tattoo Man. That pretty much made him - Tattoo Guy him, not Evil Initiative Col. him - a protectee.

Not that a guy that big couldn't take care of himself. She spared a look around, surprised that they were almost done. Still, it had been twenty to five, which was only about five each. She and Angel could probably have done it by themselves if they'd had to.

Speaking of...Buffy did a quick double kick that cleared a space for a moment and quick-scanned the fight to check on Angel.

Her heart stopped.

Four Initiative commandos had fastened onto Angel, hampering his reach. Evil Initiative Col. was advancing, wielding the crossbow bolt still bloody from his hand. He had a suffering and ecstatic look on his face, like he was seeing the face of God.

If he staked Angel, Buffy would make _sure_ he saw the face of God. Up close and personal.

She began fighting her way toward the little knot of men, but she could already see she would be too late.

_"Angel..."_ she whispered.

Evil Initiative Col. raised the bolt up...

...and Loud Stooge Col. hit him with a flying tackle.

Buffy grinned, relieved, and backhanded another buzz cut.

Evil Initiative Col. should really think twice about that whole hand-raising thing. It just _wasn't _working out for him today.

Tattoo Guy and Giles Junior Guy each took a guy off Angel, leaving only two to try to hold him. Which wasn't nearly enough.

Pretty soon, everyone from the Initiative was down.

The Three Stooges stood in various parts of the room and panted. Buffy ignored them for the moment, and locked eyes with Angel. The battle wasn't really done yet, just this part of it.

"Did you see Willow and Giles?"

"We crossed them coming through the upper door. They got out safe. I sent the kid with them."

"Good. Where did they go?"

"Transportation. Black SUV. Outside."

"We need..."

"I know. Not a problem."

"Great."

They turned as one and started for the door.

"Hey..." Loud Stooge protested. Buffy turned and looked at him.

Loud Stooge didn't know that the Scooby Gang had gotten some basic information from Graham. Not the whole story, they hadn't had time for that yet. Graham had gone A.W.O.L. as soon as he realized the Initiative plan, and he had met the plane Angel had chartered to bring them back from Europe. He'd only had time for the sketchiest of intelligence briefings. Still, it was enough to know that these guys were also military, and that they needed her help.

They'd also watched the freak-show for a while before tipping their hands.

Buffy was going to do this thing, if she could. Or, actually, she sort of thought she was, since she really hadn't gotten the details yet. She had to...the dreams were definitely connected to these guys. Especially Giles Junior, breathing heavily and peering at her over his glasses.

Plus, Loud Guy had saved Angel, so she kinda owed him for that.

But she also had no intention of making this easy. Dealing with the Initiative always left a bad taste in her mouth and she was _so_ not going to get into another freaking turf war with the military.

So she leaned a little.

"Yes, _Col._?"

She threw some attitude in there, just to see how he'd react, how alpha he'd get.

But he didn't come back with some order or some demand for an explanation. He just looked tired and a little lost and he looked at her with sad eyes and said, "I'm sorry. That's all. I just wanted, you know..." He gave an embarrassed little shrug that made him look about nine years old.

The Other Guy, the one who was confusingly Giles-like and yet hot at the same time - Buffy shook her head, 'cause putting those two things together was just wrong, wrong, wrong - he looked at the Loud Guy for a split second, then turned soft blue eyes on her too. And he was even sadder than the Loud Guy.

Tattoo Man just clasped his hand into a fist, set his fist over his heart, and bowed. For such a big guy, he was so damn graceful it was kind of amazing.

But ow! That tattoo thingy had to been immensely painful.

Buffy blinked. These guys were seriously hurting. They needed her. Really wasn't a difficult choice, y'know?

Her voice was deliberately casual.

"What're you guys waiting for?" All three looked at her, sharp and a bit taken aback. "From what I hear, we've got a lot of people to save, and not a whole lot of time to do it in."

Pretty Guy and Tattoo Guy looked at Loud Guy.

"It's about time." he said. His voice was gruff and annoyed, but Buffy could hear hope lurking underneath.

"Buffy." Angel kicked a groggily moving soldier, and everyone turned to him. "They're gonna start waking up soon.

"Right. Let's get out of here." She turned and marched toward the door of the warehouse.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Author's note: actually, I find Anthony Head extremely hot, but in this story, Buffy doesn't. Maybe next story. Mostly I'm a Buffy /Angel shipper and a Spike/Xander slasher, but sometimes the lure of Buffy/Giles lurks in the hidden shadows of my soul.


	8. Old Wounds, New Wounds

Of course, Buffy had forgotten that it was still daytime. She flung open the door to the warehouse and the resulting spill of LA sunlight caused Angel to leap back with a snarl.

Buffy winced apologetically. "Sorry, honey."

A black SUV with Giles at the wheel thundered up to the warehouse entrance, followed by Graham in a bland rental car. The back door of the SUV opened and Willow jumped out with a large blanket. She made a beeline for Angel.

"Brought the blanket back down from from the roof. Thought it might come in handy, seeing as how it _is_ still daytime."

Meanwhile the three military guys seemed to be questioning how Graham had managed to get their car running without the keys.

Buffy caught the words 'Willow' and 'magic' and strode up to them. "We don't have time for this, guys. Follow Giles. We can do the explaining thing once we lose the soldier boys." As the other men were climbing into their car, Buffy looked at Graham steadily. "Can we trust you?"

Graham looked back, equally level. "Yes, ma'am. For Riley."

Buffy nodded once. She swept the little group with a fierce look. "See you soon."

She got into the SUV with her friends and both cars took off.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Daniel could hear Jack grinding his teeth. The last few hours felt like a betrayal of Samantha Carter. Somewhere out there one-fourth of SG-1 was in need of rescue. And now they seemed to be stuck in someone else's bizarre drama.

The blonde was an amazing fighter, Daniel would grant her that. She looked like something out of a kung-fu movie, all flips and jumps and rolls. But he still wasn't sure why everyone seemed to think that she had some sort of mystical power. She had taken on the Marines in hand to hand combat. Big whoop. Give him a staff weapon or a zat any day.

On the other hand, there was something about her that made him nervous. He couldn't place the feeling, it was like being attracted and repelled at the same time. He instinctively felt a little panicky at the thought of getting too close to her, for any reason.

"What do you think, Jack?" Daniel was quiet.

"She's fine." Jack said automatically. Daniel understood. Carter had to be fine. SG-1 got into trouble and got out. That was part of their job description.

"I mean about...her."

Jack flashed a grin. "She's actually named _Buffy?_"

"She is a great warrior, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c was firm. "With her help I have no doubt that we will indeed be able to rescue Major Carter."

"She's so _young_..." Daniel trailed off, unsure. The Slayer made him uneasy for some reason. He felt...very strange...almost...he couldn't place it.

"She kicked butt, Daniel." Jack pointed out. "And she's taking this on even though that prick Bering tried to do her wrong." He thought for a minute. "I kinda like that Giles guy, too."

Daniel cocked his head. "Even though he looks like a geek?"

"Not all geeks are bad, Daniel." Jack said seriously. "Some of my best friends are geeks."

Daniel grinned at him.

The fourth passenger piped up.

"Buffy and I haven't always seen eye to eye, sir, but she'll do the job." Sgt. Miller had elected to come with the military group.

Daniel was sensing that he wasn't all that thrilled with the big dark haired guy.

"What was up with that 'Angel' guy, anyway?" he asked the Sergeant, who was fiercely concentrating on not losing the "W&H" license plate snaking through the Los Angeles traffic. "What was with that whole jump-back-and-growl thing?

"Didn't like the sunlight."

"Oh." Daniel thought about that. "Why?"

"Vampire." Came the terse reply.

"Of course." Daniel murmured, sitting back in his seat. "Why didn't I think of that?"

The SUV pulled into a narrow alley, drove under a metal roll-up door into a car repair shop, and screeched to a stop. There seemed to be someone waiting for them. The redhead jumped out of the SUV with a delighted squeal. As they rolled to a stop next to the black car, Daniel eyed the short red-haired boy fiercely hugging Buffy's red-haired girl friend.

They looked kind of like a matched set.

Giles had emerged from the SUV as well and was unpacking several crates and moving them into a blue van. A dark-haired guy in his early twenties was helping him. He wore casual clothes and looked about the same age as the red-head and the Slayer, but his mouth looked grim and one eye was covered with an eyepatch.

Sgt. Miller and SG-1 got out of the car and hovered uncertainly.

"Sir? I should..." the young Marine gestured towards the unpacking and Jack nodded permission.

SG-1 looked at each other. Buffy was walking toward them and Daniel was just about ready to introduce them all, when there was a bang and a snarl. Everyone spun around.

The kid with the eyepatch had dropped the crate he was carrying and was standing, tense and uncertain, staring at Sgt. Miller. The Sergeant was crouched in a fighting stance, his weapon drawn and pointed at the short red-haired kid.

The red-haired guy was also in a fighting stance, his whole body tense. He was hovering protectively in front of the girl who seemed to be trying to talk him down. Giles and Angel were standing near; both looked like they were ready to launch themselves into the scene.

Buffy reversed course, striding over to the two red-heads, glaring.

"Oz! You _must_ chill." She was talking in a fierce but low tone. The kid - Oz - didn't take his eyes off of Sgt. Miller, but Daniel could see he was listening.

Daniel kicked Jack in the ankle.

"Ow." Jack complained, looking confused. Daniel jerked his head at the situation.

"Oh. Right." Jack raised his voice. "Stand down, soldier."

Sgt. Miller didn't respond. A strange noise was rumbling just under earshot, and it took Daniel a minute to figure out what it was.

The red-haired kid was growling.

"Jack..." Daniel muttered.

"I said, stand down, Sgt. Miller." Jack walked over and stood on the other side of the fracas, mirroring what Buffy was doing with Oz.

"What's _he_ doing here?" spat Oz. His voice seemed a little thick.

"He's part of this mission." Buffy said quietly. She turned to Graham. "Graham, stop. Just look at me."

His crystal blue eyes flickered but he didn't look away from Oz.

Buffy raised her voice, gave it an edge. "Graham. You _said_ I could trust you. For Riley."

There was a slow heartbeat. Daniel felt himself growing tenser, wondering whose side he should fight for if the shit hit the fan. Maybe if all these wacky people killed each other there would still be time to go rescue Sam.

Graham Miller shifted his gaze to Buffy's face, breaking the stare-down. Oz kept his eyes on the Marine, and he was still growling softly, but the tension started to ease out of his body.

Sgt. Miller and Buffy looked at each other for another moment, then Sgt. Miller said softly, but with hate in his voice, "For Riley."

He picked up the crate in front of the dark-haired guy, and carried it to the van. The girl Willow - pulled Oz away to the other side of the garage. Angel and Buffy exchanged a look and the big dark man followed Graham, keeping his body between the Marine and Oz.

"What the hell was that?" Jack asked Buffy. He kept his voice soft and she came over to stand next to the three of them. She shook her head, looking tired.

"Racial discord." At their collectively raised eyebrows she sighed. "You really don't want to know."

"I would like to know _something_." Jack said flatly. "There seems to be a lot of history that no one bothered to brief us on. If I'm going to be trusting you and your cadre of kids here, a little context might help."

"Hey!" Eyepatch kid said belligerently. "We're here to help _you_. We may not have buzz-cuts and jackboots, but we've been fighting demons longer than you knew they _existed_. Show a little respect." He turned and stomped off, snarling "Back off, Deadboy." at Angel.

Angel came over to where Buffy and Sg-1 stood.

"I apologize for Xander." Buffy was saying, "he's a little..."

"Randomly hostile?" Angel said.

Buffy was quiet for a moment. "That last battle...we lost a lot of people. Including Anya." She looked at Angel. "and Spike."

There was a beat of silence. Angel nodded.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. "I didn't know about Anya."

"Buffy?" Giles called. Everyone turned.

"It's time." He said quietly. Sgt. Miller was in the van already, staring out the opposite window. Xander, Willow, and Oz waited quietly by the SUV.

Buffy turned to SG-1.

"I know this all seems freaky. Get all your stuff into the van. We're going to go to a safe house, somewhere we can talk out this situation." She turned to return to the van, then paused and looked back at them.

"Whatever's out there, I will find it." She said quietly, but her voice held no doubt at all. "I'll get your friend back. I promise." She moved off.

Daniel looked at Jack, then at Teal'c. Teal'c looked at the others and headed for the van.

Daniel kept his eyes on Jack.

"Battle?" he said softly.

"What the hell are we doing, Daniel?" Jack sounded lost.

Daniel instinctively leaned toward him and caught his eye, trying to project hope.

"Saving Sam, Jack." He prayed Jack would believe him. "We're saving Sam."

"Hey." They all turned. The kid with the eyepatch...Xander....was standing there. He sounded less angry, more conciliatory. "I know we're not Semper Fi and all, but trust Buffy. She gets the job done."

"Like we have a choice." Jack muttered, and followed him into the van. 

Angel stood at the driver's side of the now empty SUV. "Buffy." She looked back at him. "Be careful."

She nodded and the blue van screeched out of the garage, leaving the vampire behind.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Oz drove quickly and competently, resolutely ignoring the presence of the young Marine in the back of the van. Buffy hoped to god that Graham would ignore his obvious fear and hatred of werewolves long enough for them to get some answers. She had the sinking feeling that they were running out of time.

Angel had promised that his friends would keep the Initiative off their backs. Buffy was not so keen on this whole Wolfram & Hart thing, they pretty much seemed evil to her, but Angel said they had a lot of pull. There was bound to be something that Wesley and Gunn could come up with that could keep the Marines busy.

She studied the three soldiers in the van as surreptitiously as possible. The older one Jack - looked like he _really_ needed to blow something up. He sat next to Graham, both of them staring out of the window like they were pretending they were somewhere_ - anywhere_ - else.

The big Black guy was looking at Oz, head cocked to the side. Angel had told her that he didn't smell completely human. Buffy remembered the Initiative Col., so sure that this was a demon. They would see what happened when he passed through the wards Willow had erected over the safe house. Buffy hoped he was on their side. He looked like he could do some damage; she really wasn't looking forward to having to fight him should he turn out to be evil.

The younger guy, the proto-Giles, was looking at her. She felt again that weird sense of connection. She remembered his face in her dream, looking out of her mirror. They sat as far away from each other as they could in the cramped confines of the van and he seemed just as eager as she to avoid an accidental touch.

God, just let them not have to switch bodies. She was _so_ over that scenario. Plus, being a guy? Ew.

They pulled up to the safe house and drove into the garage. They got out. Oz triggered the garage door, hiding the van from sight. Xander, Oz and Giles and Graham began unloading the van and taking the crates into the house through a connecting door. Willow and Buffy stayed back and gestured to the three military guys.

"Willow's warded the house. Once the crates are in you guys are going to have to walk through the wards. If any of you are evil, now's the time to raise your hands."

She stood back to let the small procession through.

Her heart sank when the Black guy stopped at the doorway, putting a hand to his stomach.

"O'Neill." His voice was rich and deep. He sounded puzzled. "I find I am unable to pass the doorway."

"For cryin' out loud!" Jack was obviously reaching the end of his patience. He whirled around to glare at proto-Giles. "Daniel, we're wasting time!"

"So." Buffy interrupted, throwing her hands up. "What are you?"

They all looked at her. She returned the look, exasperated.

"I mean it. This house is warded against evil. Evil can't come in. You can't come in, therefore..."

"Buffy, I don't think he's evil." Willow said uncertainly.

"Of course he not evil!" Proto-Giles...Daniel said indignantly.

"How can he _not_ be evil? Look at him. He's like Wood's much, much bigger cousin."

"Um..Buffy?" Willow said, puzzled, "Wood wasn't evil."

Buffy thought for a second.

"All right. Point."

"But there's something..._inside_ him..." Willow continued, talking over the other man. Her eyes narrowed and she began to run her hand slowly over the big man's body, her touch about an inch away as if she were petting his aura.

Jack caught her hand. He looked dangerous for a minute.

"What are you doing?"

"Let her go." Buffy sounded just as dangerous. Dreams or no dreams, if this guy didn't let Willow go he was going to end up broken in half.

Willow looked down at her arm, then up at him.

"I'm trying to figure out why the wards won't let him pass." After a searching look, he let her go. She turned back and began feeling the air again.

"Junior." Though the older man was still looking at Willow, Daniel nodded as if the statement was directed to him. Daniel looked at the Black man, who also nodded, but just once.

Daniel stepped up to Willow and began talking in a low voice, soft blue eyes looking through his glasses.

"Teal'c is a Jaffa, a genetically altered human. They are bonded from puberty with a member of a different race, a Goa'uld symbiote in its larval stage." A brief pause. "I guess Goa'uld are about as evil as it gets. That could be the problem." He nodded at the other man. "Show them, Teal'c."

The big Black man raised his shirt and the sight of his abdomen caused everyone's eyes to widen. There was an "X" in it, like a wound, criss-crossing the tender flesh of his belly. Willow and Buffy exchanged grimaces.

"OK." Willow said slowly. "I guess I can handle...yahh!!!"

A snake-like creature poked its head out of the wound in Teal'c's stomach and hissed at everyone.

"Gah." Buffy said, recoiling.

The snake retreated back into Teal'c's stomach. Willow and Buffy looked at each other, then looked at Teal'c stomach, than looked at each other again.

"Ooookay. Will?"

Willow looked vaguely nauseous, but she said haltingly. "I think I can...um...well..."

"Will, we don't have all day."

"I'm thinking!"

Willow was quiet for a moment.

She raised a hand and muttered some Latin words. Teal'c looked startled.

"Try the wards now."

Teal'c walked forward a bit gingerly, one hand pressed to his stomach. He passed through the doorway this time, and the other two looked at Willow, amazement clear on their faces.

She shrugged. "I put it to sleep."

"Symbiotes don't sleep." Daniel said flatly.

"And yet..."" Teal'c's deep tones sounded mystified.

"Let's argue this one inside, shall we?" Buffy indicated the crates and everyone took one, emptying the van. They followed her into the dark cool interior of the safe house.


	9. A Soldier's Story

Daniel's first thought upon entering the living room was how _normal_ everyone seemed. Sgt. Miller was standing next to the door leaning against the wall. He straightened up as they came in and the SG team fell in next to him, taking up positions near the exit. Willow went straight over to Oz and the two began whispering again, their heads low and intimate. Giles - and what the hell kind of name was that? - was on the speakerphone and they could hear the end of a strange conversation, one that Buffy seemed to pick up on immediately.

"...and then Andrew started talking about some demony-type protection..."

Giles rubbed his forehead.

"I sincerely hope _someone_ put a stop to that."

"Of course I did." The voice on the other end was indignant.

"Dawn..." Buffy had a warning tone in her voice.

"OK..."The voice backed off, "Faith did, anyway. And Wood. But I helped!"

"Don't help." Buffy looked at Giles and rolled her eyes. He smiled at her. "We'll call you later, Dawnie. "

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Xander said.

"But don't date any demons, either." Willow added.

"Thanks, Will."

"Sorry."

Buffy swung around to face the military men standing near the doorway.

"So," she said, folding her arms, "talk."

"I'm Col. Jack O'Neill." the grey-haired guy was obviously vibrating with impatience. "I command an Air Force exploration team. We're known as SG-1. This is Dr. Daniel Jackson," Giles Junior gave a little head nod, "and this is Teal'c." Teal'c bowed gracefully.

Giles looked startled.

"Dr. Daniel Jackson? The archeologist?"

Daniel looked equally startled. And a little wary.

"Um. Yes?"

"Giles. Share."

Giles shook his head. "There was quite a debate over you on the Watcher's council. Some of us wanted to recruit you, quite badly I must say. We believed you would be an excellent Watcher."

Daniel blinked. "Should I be flattered?"

Giles, looking a little rueful, began, "Well..."

"No." Buffy tone was short. "They were pains in my ass and now they're dead. Giles. Can we live in the now, now?"

"I second that." Jack seconded.

Buffy continued. "Now, tell me about this demon."

Graham Miller started telling his story.

"We were hunting a pair of demons in Belize. Several villages had been hit, totally destroyed. We tracked them back to a nest, which is where we first saw them."

Graham looked at Giles. "They were Kilhari."

"Kilhari don't nest." Giles said sharply.

"Right." Graham nodded sharply. "So Lt. Finn Riley figured there had to be some kind of super-supernatural situation, or...something. We neutralized the pair and destroyed most of the nest." He shook his head, looking sick. "Giles, whatever was in there...? They looked like Kilhari...but they were _obviously_ carnivorous."

"Are you sure? Giles pulled his glasses off, narrowing his eyes.

"Giles." Buffy broke in. "Translation?"

Giles shook his head. "That should be impossible. Kilhari are strict herbivores. They're sort of the demonic equivalent to...kangaroos, I guess."

"You were hunting Roo?" Willow sounded horrified. "What's next? Piglet? Eyore?"

"It was a demon, Will."

"Still."

"Can we get back to the thing that's got my Major?" Jack said irritably.

Graham was a little flushed, and his voice was a bit defensive. "It was supposed to be a _capture_, not a kill. Once they started trying to eat us, it got a little complicated. Anyway, the Kilhari said that a new mystic power was rising, changing the balance of nature."

"Wait a minute." Daniel interrupted. "It 'said'? These things can _talk_?"

"A new power?" Buffy ignored Daniel. "And where is this power located?"

"We were told that it would surface in a dry lakebed in the Utah desert. We went there and sure enough there was a mystic hot spot. With the help of a sorcerer we were able to create a trans-dimensional portal that led us into an underground series of caves. We were a seven-man unit, Lt. Finn commanding. We entered the caves and began a systematic search. Lt. Finn - Sam - the _other_ Lt. Finn..." he looked vaguely apologetic, "...radioed in and said she'd found something and we should all convene at her location. So we followed her tracking beacon."

He fell silent.

"And?" Buffy demanded.

"There were all these people...they were caught in some sort of power web, pure energy as far as we could tell. Or at least, that's what Lt. Finn Riley that's what he called it. A 'mystic power web.' It looked like...like a honeycomb." Graham lost the military curtness and horror came through in his voice. "This thing is _harvesting_ people, Buffy. It's got all these people down there, trapped in these little boxes, like a giant spider web."

"Alive?"

Graham nodded. "As far as we can tell, the people don't seem to be dead, but they don't seem...it's like, inside the individual boxes, they're just frozen."

Daniel, Jack and Teal'c exchanged relieved looks.

"She's all right, Jack." Daniel murmured in a low tone. Jack closed his eyes for a half-second, then refocused on the scene in front of him.

"'Frozen' as in cold? Giles was asking. He'd put his glasses back on and had begun pulling various books out of crates, discarding some and piling others on the desk in the corner of the room.

Graham shook his head. "No, sir. 'Frozen' as if...time just kinda stopped for them. He shook his head. "Anyway, we were all trying to get into the web stuff, trying to get the people out, when the hostile showed." He looked at Buffy. "Remember the Polgara?"

Buffy's mouth twisted. "How could I forget?"

"This thing was worse." Graham's eyes were haunted. "This was worse than any demon I've seen."

"Worse than Adam?" Xander asked, shocked.

Graham nodded soberly.

"I need you to describe this demon." Giles asked. He didn't raise his voice, but the young soldier replied immediately, as if given a direct order.

"Approximately two meters high, a deep red color, skin scaly, clawed. Six fingers on each hand. Horns...and they looked functional. Thick scales. Bullets bounced off of this thing. Graham rubbed his face, tired. "It had blue eyes, entirely blue, and black scales along its back and arms. It also had retractable spikes that fanned out along its forearms like quills, and it could launch those like projectiles."

"That's impossible." Giles was leafing through a book furiously.

"I assure you, " Teal'c's voice was courteous, but firm, "Sergeant Miller is completely accurate in his description."

Giles found a page in the book he was looking at and brought it over to the young Marine.

"Is this the demon?"

Sgt. Miller looked at the page, then at Giles in astonishment. "Yeah! That's it!"

"Wow. That's a personal best." Buffy looked at Giles. "So how do I kill it?"

Giles took the book back, looking at it with a faintly bewildered air. "You shouldn't have to." He tossed the book down and pulled off his glasses. "That demon's been extinct for a thousand years."


	10. A Soldier's Story pt 2

Whew.

First of all, my profound apologies at how long it's taken me to update between chapters 8 and 9. I've got a story due at the end of July for a challenge in the HP fandom, and it's been kicking my butt. ::grins:: Now I'm stuck in the middle of _that_ story and figured, hey - why not jump back and try to dig a little deeper into _this_ story?

To everyone who's reviewed, a huge, huge thanks. It really does feed the beast.

To all those who wrote requesting pairings, a sad fact: this story is Gen. I really just started writing it because I like the action and I wanted the SG-1 team and the Scooby Gang to party. So that's what this is. Them partying. If you're a slasher at heart (as I am) you can probably catch a whiff of pre-slash to whet your palette. If you're anti-slash, they're all just good friends.

To **Amber Penglass**: You're completely right and I even thought about it, but I didn't know the correct terminology. I should have researched better. I knew that if they were Navy, it would have been "sailor," and if they were Air Force, it would have been "airman," but I had no clue what the distinction was for Marines. And the Tok'Ra thing? Total cock up. Mea Culpa. I'll go back and fix it when I can.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'm hopefully (cross fingers and knock wood) going to try to update at least once a week from here on out, but July is a little tricky given the above-mentioned situation. Once that story is out of my hair, I'll be much more regular, I promise.

Cross my heart.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

**Chapter 10**

Jack was completely disgusted.

"Daniel, Teal'c," he commanded, "We're out of here."

"Just a minute, Jack." Daniel was looking at the book, studying the description of the demon. He looked at Giles, "Sumerian?"

Giles nodded, startled. "As a matter of fact, yes."

"That may be the answer, Jack." Daniel said. "What if one of these things got out through the Stargate? The last one here could have died out, while more bred on other planets."

There was a silence.

"Hooo-kay." Xander said.

Willow looked disturbed. "I think you should explain _that_ sentence."

Daniel looked at Jack, then he looked down and frowned. "Um. Yes. Well...first you should hear the rest of Sgt. Miller's report."

Everyone's gaze swung back to Graham Miller.

"There's not much else." He said. "The HST..."

"Hostile Sub-terranean." Buffy interjected, rolling her eyes.

"...entered the chamber we were in. It got Lt. Finn with one of those quills, she went down and we returned fire. Lt. Finn - Riley - was carrying Lt. Finn - Sam - and we were laying down cover. But, like I said, bullets didn't phase it, and neither did our electricity guns. It just kept shooting those quills and then the portal seemed to be dissolving, and Riley ordered me to stop shooting and find you."

"And you left him there?" Buffy sounded dangerous. Her eyes were narrowed and she took a step toward the soldier.

"NO!" Graham was adamant. "I kept firing...I told him I couldn't leave him..." his eyes were haunted.

"He...he dropped his gun...he dropped his _wife_ ...he had three of those damn quills in him...and he still had so much strength...My God...he grabbed me and he _pushed_...practically _threw_ me into the portal..." Graham's voice broke, "he...oh, my god..."

It took a moment for Graham to get himself under control.

"The portal was...unstable...and I just kept ...falling...and then I was outside...but I wasn't in Utah..."

"Or Kansas." Jack muttered.

"I didn't know where I _was_. Nothing looked familiar; I mean, it was like no place I'd ever been to in my _life_." Graham looked up again. "They changed the _sun_..." 

There was an intake of breath from the Slayer. Xander and Willow exchanged troubled looks.

Graham went on, crystal-blue eyes staring off into the middle distance. "And then Teal'c and Major Carter found me and that's when I met Col. O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. And...and...they brought me...home..."

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"You had no choice, Sgt." Jack's voice was gentle.

"I left him there, Sir!" Graham's voice was sharp, but everyone could hear the pain in it.

"He made you do it." Buffy added. She and Jack exchanged weary, understanding looks. "You did the best you could."

"And we're going to get him back, Graham." Willow said reassuringly. She looked at Giles. "We _are_ going to get him back, right?"

"Yes." Buffy said firmly. "Giles?"

Giles and Daniel were poring over three more books, having a quiet conversation in some language neither Jack nor Buffy could recognize. They looked up.

"We're...working on it." Giles said. He and Daniel peered over their glasses at the group, looking disturbingly similar. Giles waved a hand, "Why don't you...um...patrol?" He indicated a small chest.

"Research party!" Willow exclaimed happily. Daniel smiled at her.

Buffy and Jack looked at each other. Neither looked happy about the delay, but Graham was practically _vibrating_ with rage and grief. They understood the need to get him out of the way while Giles and Daniel figured out what the hell was going on.

"Right." Jack said.

"Patrolling." Buffy said. She picked up the chest and jerked her head at Jack, Xander and Teal'c. "C'mon, guys. Let's see what LA has to offer the slayer-about-town."

Graham looked at her, nostrils flaring; she met his look squarely, not backing down an inch.

"You too, Graham," she tossed him a stake, "what say we go work on some...anger management?"


	11. Research Party

Yikes. My laptop died and I got a dog, so my writing has been non-existent this last two weeks. Still, I'm beginning to see the last bit of the shape of this thing, so if I can just steal time on other computers this week, more should be forth-coming.

Thanks again to reviewers. It's a fabulous, fabulous service you do, giving feedback, and it's much appreciated.

None of these characters are mine and I make no money from this venture.

****

Chapter 11

Books, books, everywhere; they were piled haphazardly on every horizontal surface. Small books, large books, scrolls and tomes. Many were leatherbound and a few had intricate designs on the covers. Almost all had that faintly musty smell of books that weren't read often.

Daniel had to admit, he had never heard of most of these books. But he recognized in the taut, set look on Giles' face the same fervor he himself often felt. The other man was skimming through a book - from the occasional muttered word it sounded like it was written in Sumerian - and he looked completely absorbed. Four other books lay open in a semi-circle around him, and every so often he would put down one book and pick up another, always in a different language. Keeping his mind focused, not allowing the constant flow of information to dull the eye or mesmerize the brain.

Daniel did that too.

He wondered if this was how he and Sam looked to Jack. Sam's focus was an awesome sight to behold, but when they got to witness it, she was usually saving their collective asses. _Better living through nuclear physics_, his Jack-voice said. Usually he was too worried about dying or the dangers inherent in blowing up a sun to think about the look on her face as she typed coordinates into the computer or reconfigured Goa'uld information crystals. Still, he always felt this same type of kinship with her in those moments, a subconscious recognition of the similarities between them.

He missed Sam.

Shaking his head to clear it, Daniel looked down at the book in front of him. Written in an older Arabic dialect, the book had contained one tantalizing reference to a ' devil, red-skinned and invincible' with 'eyes the color of dawn'. It called the demon the 'kin-stealer and the 'servant of time'. Interestingly it was in reference to the exploits of someone who was never named, only referred to as 'The Fallen.' Daniel put a sticky-note on the page, scribbling 'Fallen?' on it, and went to the next book.

"so I agreed to see her." Oz said. "I figured I've been through it, y'know? Since I was already in the neighborhood, it couldn't hurt to help Angel out."

"How's she doing?" Willow asked.

"She's fairly freaked. At least Jordy's teeth were kid-sized, you know? Kate got the full on wolf-attack."

Willow grimaced. "Ouch."

"Yeah." Oz fell silent for a moment. "Willow. Aboutabout Tara. I'm sorry."

Willow looked down and away for a moment. When she looked back, her eyes were soft and sad. "Me, too."

Giles felt _something_ massing, just behind his left eye. He was piecing together scraps of information, adding them to the mix as fast as possible, and he felt the shape of _something_ becoming clearer.

Unfortunately, it looked rather bleak.

"This reference here," Daniel said, indicating a small quotation, "I recognize the language, it's a variation on Goa'uld. The surrounding text seems to describe something like the "web" Graham was describing."

Giles pulled on his glasses and peered at the indicated quote. "It's an obscure demonic dialect," he muttered, mostly to himself, "something about The Fallen'I can't quite make it out."

Daniel turned and retrieved the Arabic book he had been studying earlier. "YesI've found another reference - here - to this demon and something called 'The Fallen.'"

"Yes, now that you mention it, I've run across several references to 'The Fallen.' Somethingor someone?" Giles' eyes unfocused as he added another piece to the puzzle in his mind. His brow furrowed and he, reluctantly it seemed, pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket. "I wonder"

His voice trailed off. He shot a sharp look at Willow.

Willow caught his eye. Emotions flitted across her face - confusion, understanding, amazement. "Oh."

She sounded surprised.

Suddenly Willow stretched, hugely and theatrically. "Boy." she said brightly, "I sure am tired."

Oz stared at her.

Daniel stared at her.

"Aren't you tired, Oz?" Willow fake yawned with enthusiasm.

"If the situation requires." he said, questioningly.

"It does." she said in a low tone, then added loudly, "Oz and I are tiredand sore stiff - but not in a bad waythat came out all wrongwalk!" Willow started edging toward the front door. "We should takea walk."

She and Giles were looking at each other the whole time; it was slightly creepy. There was some kind of communication going on, but Daniel couldn't read either of them well enough to hazard a guess as to what it involved.

Except he was fairly sure the card Giles was holding was somehow key.

"Yes." Giles said shortly, breaking eye contact with Willow and looking back at the card in his hand, "I think you shouldget some air."

Daniel looked at Oz, who looked just as mystified.

Willow and Giles smiled tightly at each other and the red-haired girl headed off, Oz at her back.

"Ooookay." Daniel looked at Giles, the obvious question in his blue eyes.

"I'm going to call someone." Giles said quietly. "I need you to be absolutely quiet; I don't want him to know you're here. Anddon't mention this call to Buffy? Ever?"

Daniel thought for a moment. "Agreed."

Giles leaned over and dialed a number on the telephone.

It was still on speaker and when the line was picked up the voice on the other end was British and clipped.

"Wyndam-Pryce."

"Wesley, this is Rupert Giles."

"Rupert." the voice took on a strange edge, "I hope the books were useful."

"Yes, thank you." Giles' voice was also clipped and Daniel could see a certain tension in his fingers as he pulled his glasses off and began to polish them. "I'm trying to make out an obscure quotation on the Chirilic Codex. Something about The Fallen?'" he replaced his glasses and stared sightlessly into space.

"YesI think I remember that section." There was the sound of shuffling. "I believe the original source of that quotation is the Terimine Prophecy." The voice on the other end now sounded a bit pre-occupied, as if the speaker was going through books, searching for something particular.

"Could you find that for me?"

"Certainly." Wesley sounded surprised. "But doesn't that pertain to the Loknoor demons?"

Giles rubbed his head. "As a matter of fact"

"Well, then isn't this a bituseless? Looknor are extinct. Everyone knows that."

"Yes, Wesley, " Giles gritted out, "everyone _does_ know that. Just as everyone _knew_ Balthazar was dead, remember?"

There was a silence.

"I'll get right on it."

"You do that."

Giles hung up the phone and sighed. "Bloody berk."

"Now what?" Daniel asked, trying to stay polite.

Giles focused on Daniel for the first time since he'd pulled out Wesley's card.

"We keep looking. Any and all references to either the demon or this ' Fallen' chap. Something," he said grimly, "that can tell us who he was and how he stopped this thing. We need all the information we can get."


End file.
